LIN101H1F Syllabus Fall 2022

Introduction to Linguistics: Sound Structure Medical Sciences 3153 Brennan Hall 200
T 1–3pm T 5–7pm

instructor: Nathan Sanders office: Sidney Smith 4070 and online (Zoom)
email: nathan.sanders@utoronto.ca hours: W 3–5pm and by appointment

Course Description

This course provides a general introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of language. We will
cover basic linguistic methodology and concepts through systematic exploration of the inherent sim-
ilarities and differences across spoken and signed languages. Topics include the nature and diversity
of human language, language-related social justice, the physical articulation of speech and sign, the
patterning of sounds in spoken language, the internal structure of words and signs, sociolinguistic
variation, and language change over time.

As part of the Writing Integrated Teaching (WIT) Program, this course is designed to help develop
your writing skills, with a focus on accurate and coherent argumentation.

This course satisfies the Humanities distribution requirement and the Thought, Belief, and Behaviour
breadth requirement. There are no prerequisites to take this course. You cannot enrol in this course
if you already have credit for LIN100Y1, LIN101H5, LINA01H3, or LINA02H3.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

• recall, define, and explain basic concepts and terms used by linguists, especially:
– articulatory descriptions of speech sounds and signs
– fundamental units of linguistic structure (phoneme, handshape, morpheme, etc.)
– differences between prescriptive and descriptive views of language
• identify and describe both the diversity and underlying similarities across languages
• effectively refute common misconceptions and myths about language
• identify the locations and functions of parts of the human anatomy relevant to speech production
and signed language articulation
• transcribe speech sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet
• analyze linguistic data to determine:
– allophones, allomorphs, and their distributions
– underlying representations
– phonological rules needed to connect underlying to surface representations
• recognize and assess how language is used to construct and sustain unfair social structures
• write logically, coherently, and clearly about language

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Course Materials

The textbook for this course is Anderson et al.’s Essentials of Linguistics, which is free and available
online at https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics2/. There are also many tra-
ditional (and therefore, expensive) options which have more exercises, more detail, and more topics,
but these are probably more than you would need unless you plan to go further in studying linguistics.
Note there can be some variation in how different sources talk about the topics in the course. If you
come across anything that contradicts what you were taught in this course, remember that this course
takes precedence.

Weekly lecture notes will also be distributed prior to each lecture. These lecture notes and other course
materials will be available on Quercus at https://q.utoronto.ca.

Assessment

Your overall course grade is calculated as follows:

10% course engagement

15% homework (best 5 out of 6, 3% each)
30% quizzes (best 3 out of 4, 10% each)
45% final assessment

Assessment of course work adheres to the following policies set forth by the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
and by the Department of Linguistics:

https://governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/secretariat/policies/
grading-practices-policy-university-assessment-and-january-1-2020
https://www.linguistics.utoronto.ca/undergraduate-programs/grading-policy

In particular, the results for all course work are normally given as raw scores, not actual marks. In
most cases, these scores will translate directly into marks (e.g. a raw score of 85 would count as a
mark of 85), but sometimes, it may be necessary to calibrate the raw scores before computing a final
course grade to account for various issues (discrepancies between TAs in marking, assignments that
were harder or easier than intended, etc.). Calibration will normally be a linear transformation which
adjusts the value of scores without altering the underlying curvature (thus, it is not a true “curve”).

Homework and quizzes in this course are all intended as formative assessments, which means they
are designed to help you progress through the course. Thus, your performance and scores for these
assessments will be computed and released as soon as possible, to help you know what aspects of the
material you need to work more on.

In contrast, course engagement and the final assessment are summative assessments, which are in-
tended solely for the instructor to compute a final grade as a representative summary of your overall
mastery of the course material. These are not formative assessment, so you are not expected to learn
from them. Accordingly, it is standard practice in the Department of Linguistics that course engage-
ment and final assessment marks are not released, so please do not ask for these marks.

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Course Engagement

Serious engagement with every aspect of the course is important. Showing up to class and doing
the assigned work is considered normal behaviour and does not count extra for your engagement.
Beyond doing this bare minimum that any student should do to successfully complete this course, a
fully engaged student will also provide proactive and insightful contributions throughout the course,
demonstrating a superior understanding of the course material. This can manifest in different ways for
different students, but usually through active participation in tutorials and/or on discussion boards.

Homework

Homework is assigned on a Tuesday and due the following Tuesday before the first lecture. All home-
work is online and must be completed on Quercus by 1pm on the due date. Because homework
solutions will be available and discussed shortly after the homework is due, and because we are on a
tight timeline with material that continuously builds upon previous material, late homework cannot
be accepted under any circumstances. To compensate for this strict policy, your lowest homework
mark is ignored when computing your overall course grade.

Note that some parts of the homework may be graded for completion only, not correctness, but you
are still expected to make a serious attempt at a full solution in your submission to receive full credit.
Homework may require more time than you think, and life may take unexpected turns, so start early!
Do not wait until the last moments before the deadline to attempt to submit your homework! Re-
quests for extensions or make-up work will be denied, except in extraordinary cases (hospitalization,
etc.). You are encouraged to consult and collaborate with other students to discuss the homework, but
you must each submit your own solutions online, in your own words, listing the names of all the
students you worked with.

Homework is automatically submitted to Ouriginal for a review of textual similarity in an effort to

detect possible plagiarism. Homework submissions will be included as source documents in the
Ouriginal reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagia-
rism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of the Ouriginal service are described online at
https://uoft.me/pdt-faq.

Your homework must be submitted on Quercus as a PDF only, typed in a standard font (Times New
Roman, Computer Modern, Cambria, etc.), at a reasonable size (11–12pt) and with reasonable mar-
gins (around 2.5cm or 1-inch). The top of the first page must include your full preferred name, your
student ID#, the assignment number, and a list of the names of any students you collaborated with,
something like the following (the actual format is not important, as long as the information is there):

Halima Sabir, 1234567890 Homework #1

collaborators: Asha Ojukwu, Justin Parker, and Li Wei

If your homework is not legible, not properly formatted, or otherwise unacceptable according to
these guidelines, it may be rejected and counted as 0% towards your homework average!

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Quizzes

Four quizzes will be given online on Quercus. You will have a 12-hour window in which to start
writing each quiz, between 11am and 11pm on Mondays. Once you begin a quiz, you will have 30
minutes to complete it. All material covered in previous lectures, tutorials, and assignments, including
the most recent ones, are valid subjects for quizzes, though the focus will usually be on the most
recent material since the previous quiz. Make-up quizzes will only be given in certain emergency
circumstances; appropriate medical documentation is required. Your lowest quiz mark is ignored
when computing your overall course grade. You cannot collaborate with anyone on the quizzes.
You may use your notes and anything directly linked on Quercus (but no other sources), but do not
rely on them; you will not have time to look everything up, so you should have much of the course
material committed to memory.

Final Assessment

The online final assessment (date/time TBA) covers material from the entire course. You will have
a 12-hour window in which to start and finish writing the final. The final is made of multiple parts
which you must complete in order; once you finish a part, you cannot go back to it. However, you
can freely view any of the questions within the part you are currently working on. Each part has a
designated time limit. You can take breaks as long as you want between parts, but you must complete
the final within the 12-hour window. As with the quizzes, you cannot collaborate with anyone, but
you may use your notes and anything directly linked on Quercus (but no other sources), though you
should not rely too heavily on them. More information about the content and structure of the final
will be made available closer to end of the semester.

Make-ups for the final will only be given in certain emergency circumstances; appropriate docu-
mentation is required. Make sure to use the Absence Declaration tool on ACORN.

Lectures

Lectures will be held on Tuesdays at 1–3pm and 5–7pm. The lecture content is the same for both
timeslots, so you should only attend the timeslot you enrolled in. Note that lectures are on Uof T
time, starting at 10 minutes after the hour. Although attendance is not counted toward your grade,
regular attendance is strongly recommended.

Office hours

I and various TAs will also hold a mixture of in-person and online office hours each week, The sched-
ule and Zoom access information for office hours are available on Quercus. You can ask questions
about the lecture content, but it is also a good opportunity to ask questions after looking through the
homework and attempting to work on it. Starting early on your work is a great way to ensure success!

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Tutorials

Tutorials provide an opportunity to discuss the course material and assignments in a more person-
alized setting, as well as to get important practice with various concepts and skills, especially before
upcoming quizzes. Tutorials are held on Thursdays. The tutorial schedule is available on Quercus.
Note that tutorials are also on Uof T time, starting at 10 minutes after the hour.

There is no tutorial in Unit 12, due to the end of classes. Tutorials will ordinarily focus on practicing
material covered in the most recent lectures and homework. Regular tutorial attendance is strongly
recommended, though not strictly required. No part of your course grade is based on raw atten-
dance, although participation in discussion and activities can contribute to your course engagement.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

Please note that, except where indicated, all course materials (this syllabus, lecture notes, homework
assignments, quizzes, solutions, the final project, other Quercus content, etc.), whether in hardcopy
or electronic form, are the intellectual property of Professor Sanders. You do not have permission
to distribute any of these materials, in whole or in part, in any form, to any person, website, or
organization. In particular, do not post these materials to online repositories like Chegg, Course
Hero, etc., and do not give them to other students, now or in the future. Unauthorized distribution
of protected course material is not only an academic offence but also a violation of the Canadian
Copyright Act (RSC, 1985, c. C-42).

Academic Integrity

The issue of academic integrity is taken very seriously in this course, and there is zero tolerance for
dishonesty. Please give full respect to the teaching team, yourself, the University, and the larger aca-
demic endeavour by adhering to the highest standards of ethical academic behaviour. Note that even
unintentional violations are still unacceptable, so give your submitted work the care and attention
necessary to guarantee that fair and accurate credit is given to all sources at all times.

Suspected lapses in your academic integrity will be pursued to the full extent of Department and
University policy. Please consult the Governing Council’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters
at the following URL for more information, including descriptions of proscribed activity:

https://governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/secretariat/policies/code-behaviour-academic-matters-july-1-2019

In particular, your work on the quizzes and the final must be representative of your own independent
knowledge and ability. Do not attempt to get answers or help from any unauthorized source, and do
not give answers or help to any other students.

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©2022 Nathan Sanders all rights reserved
Accessibility Accommodation

If you require accommodation for equitable access to course materials or activities, please get offi-
cial documentation of your accommodation needs from Accessibility Services as soon as possible,
because you cannot receive appropriate accommodation without it. In particular, if you need accom-
modations for a specific assignment or quiz, at least one week’s notice is needed. I will work together
with you and Accessibility Services to figure out the most effective accommodation for your needs.
For more information, visit the Accessibility Services website at https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/depa
rtment/accessibility-services/.

Course Etiquette and Other Tips

If you want to be referred to by a particular name and/or pronouns, please let the instructors and
your TA know in a manner and time that is comfortable for you. If we make a mistake in class, please
feel free to correct us at an appropriate time, respectfully and non-confrontationally. We’re on your
side and will do our best, but we are human and can make unintentional mistakes.

You may refer to me as Professor Sanders, Professor, Sanders, or Nathan, whichever you feel com-
fortable with. Linguistics as a field tends to be a bit more informal than other fields, so it is common
to call linguistics professors by their first names, but do not feel obliged to do so if you prefer to be
more formal. My pronouns are grammatically masculine: he, him, etc.

If you need to contact me by email, do so only from Quercus or directly from your utoronto.ca
email account. Start the subject header with the course code and finish with a short relevant summary
of your email (e.g. “LIN101: HW #6 question”). Please be sure to identify yourself by full name at
least once (such in your email signature). Often, you may be asking a question that is answered in the
syllabus, so please read it carefully before emailing. I will try to respond promptly, but it may take up
to two business days for me to respond, so do not rely on email for urgent questions.

Do not contact your TA by email! You may ask them questions during tutorial, but otherwise, you
should not engage with them about the course outside of tutorial. The TAs are unionized and have
strict guidelines governing how much time they can spend on this course, and they have been in-
structed to delete any emails you send to them.

You may also want to make use of the course’s discussion boards on Quercus, which will be moni-
tored fairly regularly every day.

If there is a genuine marking error on an assignment (that is, an objectively correct answer being
marked wrong), let me know as soon as possible. Requests for mark reconsideration can only be
handled within two weeks after the mark is released; after that, they are locked in. Your request
should be specific and clear; vague complaints about harsh grading are not sufficient.

If your academic livelihood depends on getting some particular mark in this course, meet with me
early in the semester to discuss your situation, and he can help guide you to make the best decisions for
your academic success. Desperate pleas for last-minute extra marks will not be received favourably.
Start planning now! The end of semester is far too late.

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©2022 Nathan Sanders all rights reserved
Course Schedule

EoL2 lecture tutorial quiz HW due

unit topics readings (Tue) (Thu) (Mon) (Tue 1pm)
1 language and linguistics 1.1–1.6 Sep. 13 Sep. 15 — —
2.1–2.8
2 language and power Sep. 20 Sep. 22 — #1 Sep. 27
9.x–9.y
3 linguistic articulators 3.1–3.2 Sep. 27 Sep. 29 — #2 Oct. 4
4 spoken language consonants 3.3–3.4 Oct. 4 Oct. 6 #1 Oct. 3 —
5 spoken language vowels 3.5–3.6 Oct. 11 Oct. 13 — #3 Oct. 18
6 signed language articulation 3.7–3.9 Oct. 18 Oct. 20 #2 Oct. 17 —
7 syllables, stress, and tone 3.10–3.12 Oct. 25 Oct. 27 — #4 Nov. 1
8 phonemes and allophones 4.1–4.4 Nov. 1 Nov. 3 — —

reading week (no classes)

9 phonemes and allophones (cont’d) 4.5–4.6 Nov. 15 Nov. 17 #3 Nov. 21 —

10 rules and derivations 4.7–4.10 Nov. 22 Nov. 24 — #5 Nov. 29
11 morphology 5.1–5.4 Nov. 29 Dec. 1 #4 Dec. 5 #6 Dec. 6
12 language variation and change 10.1–10.5 Dec. 6 — — —

final assessment TBA

EoL2 readings represent the material from the textbook (EoL2 is short for Essentials of Linguistics, 2nd
edition) to be covered in lecture for that unit. Lecture notes will also be be made available on Quercus
a few days before lecture. You are not expected to read the textbook or lecture notes in advance, but
you may find it helpful to do so. Either way, you should read them soon after lecture, since they will
be relevant for tutorial activities, quizzes, and homework.

Other Important Dates for Fall 2022

Sep. 5 Labour Day (University closed)

Sep. 8 first day of classes (note: no LIN101 tutorial!)
Sep. 16 waitlist is closed
Sep. 21 last day to enrol
Oct. 10 Thanksgiving Day (University closed)
Nov. 16 last day to drop courses
Nov. 7–11 reading week (no classes)
Dec. 7 last day of classes
Dec. 7 last day to add/remove CR/NCR option
Dec. 10–20 final assessment period (incl. Saturdays and Sundays)
Jan. 6 last day to file petition for late term work

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©2022 Nathan Sanders all rights reserved